Lone Cyborg
by Xaneth22
Summary: The titans are maturing, and Cyborg feels left behind. His emotional struggle with himself and the development of the new enemy
1. Lone Cyborg

fan fiction  
  
Teen Titans  
- Lone Cyborg  
  
The sun was soft in the dusk sky. The birds still chirped, and if one listened long enough, one would hear them fade. The grasshoppers came out and played their own song, and the fireflies danced to the new melody. A breeze picked up from the calm mountains to the north and blew the grass forward then backward. Time snailed along.  
The city lights in the background of the scene mimicked its starry brothers in the sky. One by one, the lights lit up; two by two, the stars showed their solemn faces. The trees whispered their own love to one another, and the critters of the forest giggled with delight. Calm ocean water created a serene feeling, completing the setting in such a way that the perfection of heaven was jealous.  
The air tingled with an eerie sense of affection all around Jim. To his left, he could see the connection being made between his friends. To his right, no different. Jim felt the love that he longed for all around him. He hated how good he was at feeling what others felt. It was his dark gift.  
"But where was Raven?" he thought to himself. Jim answered his own question aloud: "Beatin' around with her mind, probably."  
"What was that, Cyborg?" Asked an inquisitive young girl.  
Terra was the girl's name. The sixth addition to the Teen Titans, she stood at a modest five and a half feet. Her arms and legs were lengthy, strange to the rest of her body. Her hair ran down to the small of her back, blonde with red highlights. Her eyes were naturally wide like an easterner, but was otherwise western in both terms of appearance and dress. Her small breasts were covered well by a black, long-sleeved top that didn't feel the need to cover her naval. Her torn jeans were unzipped and unbelted (both belts), but still firmly onto her round hips. Her boots were knee-high, black like the rest of her outfit. Her nose twitched whenever she asked a question, Jim noticed.  
"I said Raven's probably meditating." Jim lied a bit, but he didn't want to break her mood.  
"Probably. I don't know how she does it. Her power is really awesome, though. If that is what it takes, I'm glad she sacrifices time like this for the Titans."  
"'More terrible than anything. Not a lot can stand up to her these days. The villains are thinning because of her power..." Jim trailed off a bit. He tried to catch himself at the last moment, but Terra had already noticed.  
"Hmmm... You seem to be thinking too much." A look of concerned crossed her face, but only for a moment. She quickly reassured herself by adding, "Thinking isn't good for you."  
Jim decided to ignore that. He took his hands off of the rail and decided to go inside. But before he did, he made a quick glance at the rest of the deck. Robin and Starfire stood on the far side of the deck, Starfire's hips slowly bobbing left and right as she drew closer to robin. Starfire's modest distance reassured Jim's mind that the woman wasn't an imposter. Ever so lightly, he chuckled to himself, making sure not to grab Terra's attention. He decided then not to disturb the two.  
Another quick glance to the other side revealed beastboy resting on the ground in dog form, sleeping soundly and noisily. Again for the same reasons, Jim the Cyborg chuckled to himself.  
Jim nodded to Terra as he walked slowly to the roof door. He clenched the knob, and while doing so he told himself that he'd be all right. He opened the door and closed it firmly behind him.  
The lights were not on inside, and it was painfully black. Jim sunk to the floor against the door and rubbed his large black hands against his bald head. He was, in the lightest of words, depressed. He slowly got up after recovering and resituated himself as he climbed down the stairs into darkness. The light was at the bottom. He hated that. The creaking of the stairs reiterated to him his sorrow. "I'm gonna be ok..." he thought to himself.  
Finally reaching the foot of the stairs he hastily flipped the switch... but...  
The light burned out.  
Cyborg let out a rage. He punched the wall, and it caved like a flimsy piece of cardboard. He pounded his feet against the floor and shook the level he stood on. He let out a yell that echoed all the way to the hall on the other side and threw his words back into his face. He was a man in pain. He sat in the darkness, waiting for a response from the tower or at least his friends; none came.  
He cried. He loved every moment of it, all of it just washing the floor. He was sad but relieved and his tears dried quickly. He felt his cheek get wet, then his leg. He looked up with an arm to his nose; he was not alone.  
There in front of him stood Raven in all of her terror. Her newly grown tentacles wisped out of her cloak; she emitted a pure darkness, one that dwarfed the already unlit room. Her hood shadowed her face, and only her crimson eyes could be seen. Her body was as hidden as her face, and to Jim, she looked like a blob of darkness. As always, Jim temporarily had an expression of fear. It quickly changed to vulnerability. He was at a loss for words, but he didn't need to say anything. "Come with me, Cyborg." Said Raven. Jim didn't really have a choice. "We'll replace the light bulb later..." She added as an attempt to break Jim's bad mood. It didn't work, but coming from Raven, Jim thought kindly of it.  
Raven led Jim to his own room. She paused as they entered and transformed into human form. The entire process astounds Jim every time. The tentacles disappeared seemingly without a trace. The darkness left her, and her body came into being. She was naked after her transformation, but she used her powers to create an opaque black substance to cover up anything suggestive. Her body had become perfect over the course of the last 4 years, ever since the Titans built the Tower and became crime fighters. Her plump chest was more than generous and made Jim blush a little on the inside. She stood at five foot five. Her black and blue hair was now down to her knees, perfectly straight. Her arms and legs were strong, but feminine, and her skin was pale. She held her arms like a cross to cover herself up. After murmuring a few incantations, she was fully clothed in her usual outfit. It contained a black cloak with a black hood, a tight dark blue top and elven boots. Her gloves fit her hands and outfit so perfectly, Jim at first had to look twice to realize they were gloves at all. Raven, in all of her beauty and power, was the new leader of the Teen Titans.  
  
--- end chapter 1 


	2. Chapter 2: Raven's Prestige

NOTE: That of you e-mailing me that cyborg's actual name is Victor Stone, thanks. I know this, just be patient a bit and ill get around to addressing it, however it brings up the general point that I may suck and write something totally off from the Teen Titans line. E-mail me immediately if something like that comes up, but keep in mind that this is a slight alternate universe. Thanks again to Samurai Baker X and RavenStar001.  
  
Chapter 2: Raven and Their Minds  
  
Years ago, there lay dormant, hidden powers of the abyss and hell. Swirling clouds of fire and brimstone littered the air of the underworld; demons tortured humans who did not follow correctly their religion. Pain and suffering illuminated this scorched land, as it did every day. But a day was only a fraction of a second to the real time of the earth. It was terrible in every since of the word - just like it was every day.  
But one day was different from the others. One day marked history in the black page that was the underworld. A curious angel came down from heaven directly into hell, gracing those that were disgraced. And in her time in the underworld, one year had passed and suddenly the hidden powers were unleashed. She had bore a child with a demon of the underdark, and wishing not to be disgraced of her baby, she left it to the human world, the only world confused enough to understand the needs of her child. The only white page in the history of the underdark was torn out...  
...And forgotten...  
  
Raven quietly sat down on Jim's bed and thought for a moment. Her heaving chest indicated that the transformation had taken some energy out of her. She calmly sat, then laid, on his bed, until finally she reasserted herself and came to. She spoke as a friend: "I know what troubles you, Jim."  
Jim pulled his chair from his desk and sat in it backwards and scooted it towards Raven. He gave a heavy sigh and realized that it wasn't any use to hide anything. "Yeah... I feel like I'm in a bind. You're the only one without... relations. I wanted to talk to you anyway."  
Raven gave a quick glance at him, and then shadowed herself with her hair as she stroked it in front of her. She materialized a brush after two or three, apparently realizing the unproductive nature of her hand. "Why won't you tell any of them, Jim?" She asked in all sincerity, her eyes regardless on her own hair.  
Jim's own eyes were closed. "I can't tell them that. It would break anything that might be worth somethin'. 'Worth more than me, anyway."  
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Victor. You open up to me, and I do not hate you." Jim could tell that she was trying her absolute hardest to be compassionate, a trait Raven nearly never showed.  
"Yeah... you're in the same nutshell as me. It was easier when you used your newly found psychic powers to guess my middle name."  
"Jim... I prefer it to Cyborg, anyway." There was a moment of remembrance in the air. The day Raven discovered her telepathic powers was a hectic day at the Titan Tower. Things broke left and right; Jim himself nearly short-circuited. The computers were going crazy and Starfire eventually had to shoot her to restrain her. The entire time, Raven was yelling like a madman, apparently unable to stop the incoming thoughts from all directions. Since then, she has been more personal with the rest of the Titans and more considerate of others needs. She was the first to grow up.  
The aura of memories dispersed. "I don't know what to do, leader... I'm not jealous... at least I don't think I am." Jim made his last statement more of an invitation for Raven to look around in his mechanical head. Unfortunately for Jim, because he wasn't completely human, he was first used to test how far Raven could go with her new powers. Over time, it divulged every piece of information to her, but she decided to respect the privacy of the thoughts of others. Jim wasn't an exception, however she always seemed slightly eager when given the green light to do so.  
"No, you're definitely jealous." She chuckled. "But you aren't jealous specifically over anyone, but just that fact that-"  
"-No body loves me." Jim interrupted.  
"Depends on your definition of love. It isn't unusual for a mature teenager like yourself to want that. That was part of the trade-in. Unfortunately..."  
"You can't help me, right?" Jim didn't expect of her to solve his problems when she in part created them. There was no bitterness in this thought.  
"Not any more than what I already am doing. Come to me if you feel like talking. I don't want to come to you again." While saying so she headed out towards the door. Her bare feet made no noise against the carpet of Jim's room, something that always creeped him out. Her hair was now swift, the comb having been long dissipated. She held the knob and looked at Jim, "Don't stay up too late. You could use some rest." She sounded like a mother.  
"Right... hey Raven?"  
Raven was all but out the door when she peered back in, only showing her eye. "Thanks." Jim said in as much gratitude as he could muster. She said nothing and quietly closed the door to leave Jim alone in his dark room.  
Jim felt the cold terrible chill come in and out that always seemed to follow Raven. It had become more and more prominent as her own powers grew. As Jim recalled it, it was that terror that made Raven the new leader in the first place. Ever since...  
  
The day dawned with a blood sun. The Titans slowly got up, one by one, and headed for the communications room to check the status of the world they protected. Robin punched a few buttons, and concluded gravely that a new foe was afoot, and that they were to get right on it. It was too early for beastboy; he shed tears from yawning too much. Cyborg didn't really get tired, as it was a simple matter of unplugging himself. Starfire was more than willing to go to any feat for the defeat of evil, as usual. She didn't seem to grow tired either. Terra was spacing out slightly, and Raven seemed to be in thought. And then Robin said his line he holds so dear:  
"Titans: go!"  
It was an invigorating phrase. It even seemed to perk Beastboy up as he growled with ferocity as the gang headed out. Raven, however, lagged behind. "Raven, what's wrong?" Asked Robin. The mustered strength of the Titans were delayed and turned into concern for their fallen comrade, who now lay on the floor.  
"Yeah... I'm fine... Lets go." With as much swiftness as she had fallen, she got herself up and got herself airborne. After several looks of reassurance to her comrades, they were off with as much vigor as they started with. Their destination lie within the city in an abandoned warehouse. Cyborg's mind was still concerned with Raven, but the rest of the gang didn't think much of it, so he put it in the back of his head. The ground underneath his feat swirled with color and vigor: off to vanquish their foe; it was exhilarating.  
  
Jim starred at his ceiling as he laid back into his bed. He had had enough reminiscing for the night. How much did Raven know? he thought. Wondering wasn't going to get him anywhere, but there was no way to find out. Tired, Jim's last trailing thought before slumber overcame him was his own dry life and wondering if maybe the battlefield was his only escape. Secretly, he wished another Slade would come along so he might forget his worries. Or at least to try out his new modifications...  
Slowly, the lead that seemed to compose his eyelids won the struggle and sunk, and ever quickly came sleep.  
  
---End Chapter 2 


	3. Chapter 3: Hidden Emotions and Cyborg's ...

Chapter 3: Hidden Emotions and Cyborg's Secret  
  
Raven sat quietly eating her breakfast, gnawing bit by bit off her toast. Her orange juice was unusually full, so she gulped it down to about halfway. She was alone in the kitchen, but just to make sure she looked left and right. Assured that she was indeed alone, she divulged in her toast and ate it at an alarming speed that rivaled and even surpassed Terra. She licked her lips and fingers and moaned with satisfaction in an almost too sexual manner. "Make me another, Jim." She said sensually.  
Suddenly, Jim appeared in the background of the perspective scene. "Coming right up!" Exclaimed Jim excitedly, as he popped in another piece of bread. He came over to the table at which Raven sat and placed a brand new tub of margarine and a knife and said, "It'll take a little bit."  
"That's fine with me..." She said rather sexually. Raven was now inches from Jim's face. Jim looked directly in her stone cold black eyes and thought wild thoughts. Then all of the sudden she licked his nose. "AAACK! EEWWW! DISGUSTING!" She yelled at the top of her lungs in a very un-Raven like fashion and stood up from her chair quickly and ran off away from the kitchen.  
"Wait... come back... Raven..." Jim was helpless. He thought he had his chance, but he just tasted bad, and it wasn't really anyone's fault. But still, he wished she would at least eat her toast that he made for her...  
  
Jim woke abruptly. The rest was refreshing, and it made the air sweeter than it was. He looked outside his window and saw light shine through and outline his dark skin. He rarely felt this good; perhaps it was the dream, he thought.  
The dream was strange, but he wasn't eager to interoperate it right away. The goods, he concluded, outweighed the cons, and that was good enough for him. He got up and reached for the ceiling, then touched his toes. His muscles ached; he had fallen asleep in his clothes and in an uncomfortable position. Emotional outbursts were taxing on him, but the rest helped.  
In fact, he had forgotten to take anything off, including his... equipment. Jim was still getting used to the fact that he didn't need it anymore. His arm blaster was fake, illusioned by Raven's permanent spell. His dome was whole again and didn't have the glass. A small gem given to him by Raven supported the whole illusion. He owed her his new human life... but it had its consequences...  
It was his secret between him and Raven. No one else knew. If they knew, he wouldn't be a Titan anymore, and he would be outcaste even more so. It all happened when Raven reached a new point in her development when she discovered she could regenerate her wounds...  
  
The bomb was counting down. There was only 2 desperate minutes left. Cyborg was desperately trying to diffuse it, Robin was looking for alternatives but was coming up dry, Raven overlooked Cyborg's work, and the remaining Titans stood panicked. Time was ticking down... the bomb was impossible to diffuse. "I can't do it!" Cyborg exclaimed. "We only have - " Cyborg glanced at his arm computer; it read, "30 seconds! If anyone has any ideas, NOWS THE TIME!"  
Robin gave a quick shake of the head. "Should we run?" He asked desperately.  
Starfire agreed, "We cannot undo the damage that is about to be done. Best to make our way out."  
"No. Let me handle it." Raven, the newly elected leader of the Titans forced Cyborg aside with her right arm and started somatic components to a spell with her other. "Azerath... Yugoldi..."  
Yugoldi? It was unfamiliar to the Titan gang - it was a new incantation. What did Raven have up her sleeve? Time clocked in at 8 seconds remaining.  
"...HORMIADON!" She exclaimed, simultaneously hold her arm longwise against the bomb. A completely opaque shield covered the bomb entirely, but Raven's arm was clearly inside of it long ways. "Are you crazy, Raven!? You're going to get your arm blown off!" Worried Beastboy.  
"3 seconds!" Cyborg exclaimed, starring at his computer arm.  
"RAVEN NOO!" Everyone had yelled at her to stop. The timer clicked zero, and a massive force blew Raven clear to the opposite wall. The black shield dissipated moments after her collapse to the ground, the innards of the shell containing nothing but scorched earth - and blood. The Titans ran over to Raven's armless body. "RAVEN! RAVEN!" Everyone yelped in terror.  
"ugh... uhhh..." Raven struggled to keep consciousness, but no one was paying any attention to her. Her arm, to everyone's awe, began to fabricate. The blood stopped flowing so freely and white and tan threads popped into existence at the stub of her shoulder. They wove together at lightning speed bones, flesh and blood. Within seconds, her arm was fully healed and limp with life.  
There was no words spoken for a full 10 seconds when Raven herself broke the silence. "Nice trick, huh."  
  
It was on that very night 1 year ago, Jim recalled, that Raven invited him to her room to tell him that with her newfound understanding of life, it was possible to completely regenerate his own badly damaged body. It was simply too good to be true, and he wasn't hesitant to reject the little saints offer. In the same speed at which her own arm regenerated, his own mechanical limb had fallen off and been replaced by a strong black arm. The glass in his chrome dissipated like magic and rematerialized as hard bone and flesh. The entire rest of his body shed what was not his and became what was. In moments, his own beautiful mortality had been decided for him, and he was forever grateful.  
It only occurred to him soon after that by being human, he could not be a Titan. Humanity, he then thought, came at the price of his passion and work. So he was able to convince Raven to do him one more favor... and currently, he held this favor in his hand in the form of a green gem.  
He placed the gem upon his belt and thanked Raven yet again aloud. He owed that girl his very life, he thought. He made a mental note to go get his blaster after breakfast (it was invisible and it melded into his illusionary arm to simulate its existence), and while doing so headed for his door. A few quick steps and he would be making waffles for all of his friends, he thought.  
Everyone liked Cyborg's Waffles. He wondered if people would like Jim's waffles. 


	4. Interlude: Raven's Mind

Interlude: Inside Raven's Mind  
  
-I hope Cyborg is cooking again today...-  
-BEASTBOY...HUNGRY...EAT-  
-Jim was really upset last night... I hope he's going to be alright-  
-I wonder how many dots are on the wall?-  
-Terra seems wonderfully light yet again-  
-Oh boy, Beastboy's gonna be hungry, gotta make these waffles good-  
-I wish Raven would give us a mission to do-  
-Way ahead of you Ro-  
-BEASTBOY HUNGRY EAT-  
-I can't think-  
-YEAH these waffles are gonna taste great, my own special recipe!-  
-Raven looks a little weird this morning-  
-I hope my good friend Raven is alright-  
-BEASTBOY NEEDS EAT NOW-  
  
"QUIET!"  
  
The room was already dead still when Raven yelled at the top of her lungs. Awkward glances came at her from every direction, as well as thoughts. 'It didn't matter what they were thinking... they were all so predictable,' thought Raven. She needed some relief... "Cyborg... could you give me an icepack from the freezer?"  
Quickly, Jim rushed over to the freezer and grabbed a blue, ice-cold bag. He closed the Freezer door and came over to Raven slowly. He mumbled under his breath, "Too early in the mornin' to put up any shields for that mind of yours, huh?"  
Raven nodded reluctantly. She took the ice pack from Jim's hand and said, "Save me a waffle. I'll eat it later." She turned around and slowly walked back to her room, the icepack pressed hard into her forehead. 


	5. Chapter 4: The Raven

Chapter 4: The Raven  
  
The smell of waffles filled the kitchen air as many a Titan ate to their heart's content. Beastboy had accelerated the process by turning into a hog and ate on a plate placed on the floor; it became apparent that he had not eaten dinner the night before. After all, today was the day after Valentines Day, making yesterday February 14th, the day of love. Beastboy was mighty preoccupied with Terra, making it all too obvious (even more-so) that he loves her. He spent the entire prior night trying to plan for the perfect day, but it all went up in smoke, like all of Beastboy's plans. That aside, he would still vouch that it was one of the best days of his life.  
Terra, even though being the star of Beastboy's day, ate well day prior but regardless she ate as hearty as Beastboy himself. Robin and Starfire sat adjacent to each other, eating well but not as atrociously as the other two lovers. Raven had left the room with a headache, and Jim therefore sat without her opposite Robin and Star and next to Beastboy. When the waffles were gone, Jim got up and quickly made another batch to a hungry foursome, all ready for seconds.  
Mid-waffle, Jim heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He finished what was left of his waffle quickly and got up. He walked hastily towards the waffle iron, and poured batter into it, making sure it was a good waffle. Raven walked into the kitchen, and while doing so Jim rested his body weight upon his left arm as he leaned against the kitchen counter. He said with a not particularly apologetic tone, "Hey Raven, I heard you comin' and I had forgotten about your waffle, so I'm makin' it now. Sorry." He looked at Raven, expecting an OK from her, but instead found that her face was grim. "Something wrong?"  
"Don't worry about the Waffle, Cy. Everyone, to the com room." She gave a swift pivot upon her left foot and turned herself around and walked determinedly towards her destination. Everyone else in the room gave a puzzled look to each other as they all reluctantly followed suit.  
The Titans and Jim all filled in and stood behind Raven. In semi unison, they stepped backward as Raven turned herself around to announce something. Her eyes were meaningful, her fist was clenched, and her chest held high with a breath underneath it. She gave a heaving sigh, and then said, "Titans. We will be having company soon." She trailed off with an imaginary "trouble" that everyone understood. "I have sensed the coming of a new evil, possibly old Slade followers. I have checked our cameras to confirm my suspicion. In doing so I have located them here," she paused in her speech to point to the map displayed on the screen. She pointed out that they were 2o miles inland of Jump City. "They seem to be nothing more than thugs, but they have possession of nuclear weaponry. Your job is to neutralize the threat. They are currently stopped for whatever reasons at the abandoned sulfur mine. Any questions?"  
The rigid formality the meetings had become was Raven's own idea. One of the things Robin did, she noticed, was that sometimes he didn't make everything crystal clear, a priority Raven held up more than Robin. Another reason was that there simply wasn't much trouble for the past few months, and even Beastboy welcomed the shift from goofing around and feeling like there was nothing to do to hard-line work and importance. Jim asked a question, "Will you be coming with us, Raven?"  
Raven looked at Jim funny for a moment, and then said, "No. This job is small enough for the remaining Titans to handle. I have a terrible headache. Give me a call if you need help for whatever reason. Titans -" She paused for a moment, holding her head. "-Move out!" She finished.  
"You never were as good as me at that." Said Robin as he ran past Raven. Starfire flew over Raven, and beastboy and Terra ran after Robin. Jim stayed behind. "Are you alright...?" Jim seemed to be the only one who noticed Raven's small stagger during her speech.  
"Jim... I may be... going away for a while."  
"What? What are you talking about?" Jim's face, already filled with concerned, deepened so. "You're not goin' away like you did before, are you?"  
"Maybe... but I don't think I'll be gone all that long, if I even leave." She stared at her boots while she was talking to him. Jim's heart leapt out of his chest; 'what was going on?,' he thought. "Now go, the others are waiting for you. I'm going to go get a glass of water." Jim didn't move. "That's an order, Jim!"  
Jim didn't have much of a choice. He ran off towards the others, looking back every so often. 'What was Raven doing?,' he thought. The last time she left... Jim entered another memory...  
  
The robotic guards lay broken on the ground in the Titans' wake. Robin, their leader at the time, looked ferocious and angry. It was not a new enemy as they had thought - it was Slade. Robin's dark past was not hidden from this encounter, as it was clear to the rest of the titans just how much anger he had in him. Slade stood upon a balcony out of their reach in an abandoned opera house as the titans stood on the actual stage, something that Slade found humorous and fitting. Everyone's eyes were focused on Slade's dark and evil mask, and his usual monologue after his minion's defeat. He clapped sarcastically while saying, "Well done, Robin. You never seize to amaze me." Robin bit his lip so hard it began to bleed. Starfire shifted her attention to Robin, but did not say anything. "It seems that there is nothing I can do to stop you. And if I stopped Robin, whose to say Red X wouldn't be born again."  
He had hit a nerve. Clearly and angrily, Robin said, "Red X is part of my ugly past, along with you."  
"But here I stand before you, in the present! No, you cannot get rid of me, Robin. Even if I were to die, the very bowls of hell would reject me so that I might again show my wrath to you. In the meantime, I'll try to send you there, first!" Slade pulled out what looked like a remote control, black with a single also black button. He pushed it and pointed it towards Robin.  
Suddenly, Robin began to scream in excruciating pain. It was unbearable to the titans. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Cyborg yelled.  
"Concerned for your friend? You should be. What I have pressed has activated small nano chips inside Robin, around his lungs. He didn't realize I had slipped them in when I fed him while he was my... pupil. His lungs are collapsing as we speak."  
"It hurt, yes..." Said Robin suddenly. He was up and seemed to be in no more pain. "But it didn't work."  
Totally unsuspecting, Slade took a step backward in astonishment. His eyes were wide. "What!?"  
Raven at that moment fell to the ground for a fourth time. Beastboy was the first to speak. "Raven... what's going on here...?"  
Raven had rooted herself to the ground with her palms and knees. Strange, satanic noises started to come from her growling self. "I... don't know...!" She said in a very distorted manner, voice ranging 7 octaves too low. Her clothes suddenly ripped open and her skin turned completely black. She let out a screech a harpy would have been envious of, and as the scream went on, it turned into a deep, inhumane cry. Her feet became huge, dark and featureless. He torso and arms bulged with pure terrible power as it grew and grew. Large, dark wings resembling those of gargoyles sprung into existence from her bare back, and skyrocketed towards the tall ceiling. Her face soon became completely featureless and black, and large horns grew from her forehead, twisted slightly away from herself. Pointed, black ears that shot toward the sky replaced her soft ears. Her entire body spontaneously grew and the remaining titans jumped out of the way towards the audience seating. Her hands, too, changed from humanoid to almost mole-like, with claws and only 4 fingers. The last of her rags fell off as she became a huge, genderless demon that instilled pure fear into a beholder, complete with a dark fog surrounding her base and crimson red eyes. During the transformation, her scream had turned into a cry and then finally, a roar. As her transformation completed, her wings grew feathers resembling a raven, and her chest formed a decoration with the fallen wings of the black bird in red, all within a light black circle. Her forehead, in between her newly grown horns, grew a similar symbol in red and black. Her mouth had grown two huge, white fangs.  
The mighty Raven stood now at a staggering 18 feet high in front of Slade and the rest of the titans, all of whom were scared beyond words or thoughts. Her roar finally ended after what seemed to be an eternity, and when it died a barely audible sound of roaring flames emitted from the black cloud that covered her lower body. She stood completely still, staring directly at Slade up on the balcony of the abandoned opera house.  
"It wasn't about Robin..." Slade quickly turned around in pure fear and began to run for his own, worthless life, but the Raven was ruthless and angry. With one sweep of her left, giant hand, she swept up Slade and torqued backwards, slightly hovering, and went into the audience, but not enough to be stepping on the seats, and through Slade upon the stage and through it. A giant CRASH sounded as the titans moved away from Raven and towards the exits, and a new hole was seen in the stage where Slade had been thrown in. The Raven reorganized herself and stood toe-to-toe while looking at the hole. As if by her own demonic will, the Raven lifted Slade out of the hole without using her arms or hands, as if Slade was only a marionette controlled by its puppet master by strings. Slade was barely conscious, barely breathing, barely alive. His left arm had been ripped off by the force of Raven's throw, and was bleeding massively. His garment was torn apart, but his mask was not off, as it seemed to be held there by glue. He cried out in agony, "God damn it, it wasn't about Robin!"  
The Raven looked at Slade's floating body, and in a huge, absolute terrifying voice said, "Die." The Raven took her left hand and sliced directly through Slade's body, long diagonally from his left shoulder to right above his right thigh. Huge fountains of blood shot out and covered the Raven's symbol upon her chest and her demonic face. Slade's two parts fell to the left and right of where he was annihilated, and it made a terrible thud as it hit the stage. The Raven's claw dripped with his blood. Satisfied, she roared a terrible roar, and the ceiling began to collapse from its awesome might. Robin yelled, "Titans! We have to get out of here!" No one moved, as they were still in awe of Raven's absolute power. "Titans! The roof is collapsing! We have to live!" Magically, the Titan's snapped into it and ran out the exit, lead by Robin. On the way out, the mighty flaps of The Raven's wings could be heard.  
The titans were now safe from immediate danger outside of the Collapsing Opera house. It did just that in one might rumble, and above the dust of the rubble soared in the sky a gigantic Raven heading in the opposite direction towards the just barely up blood red sun.  
  
It was on that day that Robin resigned as leader. We were nearly out of the crime fighting business, Jim thought, with no leader and a member missing. It took Raven four long months to come back home, to the titans and the tower. And another year to stop fearing her.  
  
When Raven talked about going away... did she mean she was going away like that again? Jim wondered and feared as the titans head off towards their destination and mission and away from what concerned him the most. 


	6. Chapter 5: Chat With Grim

Chapter 5: Chat with the Reaper  
  
Raven stood still for a solid minute. She left her eyes where they had landed as they watched Jim run towards the other Titans, and they did not wander. She had deceived them, she thought. A leader doesn't deceive those she leads. But they mustn't know. She was going to handle this herself.  
Her eyes unglued themselves and stuck to the floor. Her feet moved up, down, up, down... she didn't even have a choice. She was doing this because she had to. She couldn't run, not from this.  
She moved into her own room, and upon entering she closed the door as quietly as possible with her back faced inward. With a silent "bump", the door closed and she stood facing her door in her silent, black room. Behind her on the floor lay her destiny.  
Raven pivoted on her foot and walked inward. The darkness alone seemed to make noises at her, taunting her and provoking her to share her power with itself. The walls seemed to bend in and bleed with an opaque black that even broke its surrounds. The ceiling, too, bent down and called her formal name in delight and disgust. Each step she took towards the center of he room pulsated through her foot into the ground a ripping base noise that shook everything else in the room. As she drew nearer and nearer, deep red eyes appeared and stared at her in the thin air, crating their own evil glow. She finally stood above her one hatred above all other hatreds, her little black mirror - her own mind.  
She grimaced harshly as she picked it up and stared into its broken surface. Her own gray eyes reflected back at her when they suddenly turned to red. The very essence of evil emitted from it as she leaned her torso backward, shielding her eyes, while still holding the mirror. Hideous laughter and taunts came from the glass. Small broken bits fell from it to the ground. She was finally forced to drop it.  
Howls of wind screeched from the mirror as it sucked in all surrounding air to itself. Raven watched as a dark head popped into existence from the mirror's broken circle. The head made a neck stretch as it looked all around the room, while simultaneously heatless fire filled the darkness into an evil red glow. The head soon produced in like fashion a male's torso and arms, big and black, muscular and bulgy. Using his newly produced arms, he climbed out of his small portal fully and the wind finally stopped.  
There in front of Raven stood the bane of man. He held a scythe capable of chopping solid steel in two. Its hook handle originated mid staff, and he grasped it as he emerged with his left hand. He growled a terrible growl, and it made even Raven shiver. He rooted himself into the ground with his long toenails and he stared a ghastly stare into Raven's eyes. He spoke, "Greetings, master..."  
The spine chilling way he said it made it worse for Raven. She bit her tongue. "Do not call me that! You have found your pitiful way into my head; I did not invite you."  
The Grim Reaper laughed. "Oh but the great Raven's head is a perfect dwelling for the likes of me. Come now, you didn't think there was any other place I could stay, did you?" Raven looked away for a moment. "That's 'a girl. You're very head acts as the portal to your future kingdom, and I am its guardian."  
"Enough!" Raven's anger was severe. She stared at him in shocking realization as if it was the first time she had been told this.  
"The Terrible Titan. Blood Beak. Cold Claw. You've gotten some nasty names in the underworld. 'The one spoken of in the legends' is the only one of them universally known to all. Quite a title you have going for yourself. Ahahahaha!" He laughed with a generous hint of insanity. "Now then, Boss..."  
Raven had had enough. She punched The Reaper as hard as she could into his stomach as she watched, in horror, her fist slide through it as if it were colored mist. "You can't do that." He said with a tone of certain satisfaction in her helplessness. "I don't exist physically on this plane." Defeated, Raven turned around and faced The Reaper again, as she had completely thrown her body through him.  
"Now where was I..? Oh, yes! Boss..." His scythe's handle wore heavy chains that dangled and connected at the staff's base. It chillingly jingled as Grim turned himself around to face Raven. "You seem to be coming of age... you need to take responsibility and sit upon your throne. Your colleagues are getting...impatient."  
Raven quivered. "Why! Why must it be me to govern the damned! Where is Lucifer!"  
The Reaper laughed. "Lucifer? He died eons ago! The mourning star mourned his own death within death! It was his gift from the Almighty for serving him so well!" He paused in thought. He started again with less enthusiasm and more sincerity. "It was Lucifer that got the gift we all want - rest. Naturally, we had to cover it up as not to create uprisings among the devils and demons of hell."  
Raven, too, calmed down. She looked suspiciously and asked in the like, "Who is 'we?'"  
"The council, of course. The colleagues I mentioned earlier. They are the Eternally Damned. They are the ones who run hell. They were even the ones who choose your unholy mind as the new gateway into hell."  
Raven looked down at the ground. Small metaphysical scarabs chased each other through her feet and away from the room. Upon reaching the wall they dissipated. She spoke to her feet, "Why me...?"  
"You are the scourge of two worlds of three. You are the shameful child of a fallen angel and a damned warrior. You are unique in every sense of the word."  
"I don't know my parents. I am my own self!"  
"YOU are Raven. The name given to you by not your parents, but by your admirers." He stopped for a moment and looked up and down Raven's body in a creepy way. "I disturb my master..."  
"If you wish to call me that, then yes. You disturb me."  
The Reaper stomped his foot and raised his scythe, clanging the chains that clung to it. "I present to you your throne. I will give you one day to be sure of yourself, even though you have no choice in the matter. I will return..."  
Raven, tears streaming down her face, occasionally hiccupped sorrow. She nodded in grief. "Good girl." With that, Grim turned about-face and raised his black arms. The fires that lit the room collided with him and coiled around him, then drew him in with a massive force towards the shattered mirror. The mirror's fragments upon the ground met with each other midair and formed the perfectly smooth mirror face it once was so long ago. It formed together in its frame, and a second later Grim's flames pulled him into it and made a large vacuum noise. The room returned to normal.  
Raven used her powers to turn off any remaining lights in the tower at once. A massive "click" followed, and she was in complete darkness. She sat down, knees inward, and began to cry more thoroughly. She was rarely sad, but this... this was just horrible.  
After a minute or two, she grabbed the mirror. It was dark, so she turned on the light with her powers. Raven held her forehead with her offhand and gave a deep, long sigh. She looked into the mirror.  
It cracked when her eyes met her own.  
She dropped the mirror on the ground and ran off, leaving the tower completely empty and dark. The only lit room watched Raven leave in a sad fury, and it carefully held her cracked mind with loving care. 


	7. Chapter 6 Ethan

Chapter 6 - Ethan  
  
The road looked like a treadmill. It didn't seem to go anywhere and kept returning to itself over and over again. Jim felt he didn't need the exercise. He looked back at the tower in wonder and concern. Going away?, he thought. He didn't like the sound of that. Not one bit.  
The sun shined down upon the beaten path the titans traveled. It was ten o'clock in the morning. The birds chirped their songs; the crickets ended theirs long ago. Unusual for February, waves of warm air basked the land and cleansed it of its impurities. Jim's shoe touched and made friends with the ground as the Titans jetted even further ahead of him. He stood and contemplated the meaning of Raven's words. Leaving...  
"Cyborg, what is wrong?"  
Starfire had come back to get Jim moving again, but Jim instead squatted and hovered over the dull rocks that were scattered in the vicinity. He picked one up. "Nothin', Star." He was tempted to tell her what Raven had spoken, but he couldn't be sure if her words were meant for his ears only. He attempted to crumple the rock with his human fist, but it wasn't like the old days anymore. It cracked and fell into two. "Nothin'." He got up as fast as he sat down and ran. Starfire, staying behind, looked at him and wondered, just as any alien girl would do. She soon followed, the sun close behind her shining red hair.  
  
Water dripped down and splattered against the cool rock ground. Another drop fell, but it found home upon the back of a lizard as it crawled into the path of the water. Hissing, it escaped out of the cave and through Raven's legs as she entered. A bat got spooked and exited with the lizard.  
Alone, Raven sat down by a stream of water and doused her already soaked face into it. The tears were eradicated, but Raven's emotion remained. Anger radiated from her very being, as did sadness and woe. Her newfound powers were wonderful and terrible at the same time, and it would cost her freedom and a life her mother had so wished her. Soon, the pool of water had a new fountain contributing to its mass, as memories attained by her powers of premonition came rushing to her...  
  
It was a morning like any other. The dew on the leaves of the Oaks shined in correspondence with the slowly rising sun. Crickets coursed their siren song, and slowly it dwindled until it was replaced by the happy chirping of the birds. Jacks and fawns played together in harmony with the new day. Even the bears came out and greeted the sun; for it was the first time in a while many of them had done so. A small clearing with a tent and a ring of rocks with a burnt out fire completed the scene. A man's silhouette formed on the side of the tent and showed that he was sleeping soundly upon his back. A dog's golden nose stuck out of the tent and sniffed the morning air. Much to its owner's discontent, he too decided to greet the sun with a happy bark. With a yawn and a harsh comment to the dog (apparently named, 'mutt'), the man crawled on all fours and emerged into the light. He rose and stretched, and decided it is best to dress. His backpack containing his clothes lay half open leaning against the pole that held up the tent. He crawled back into the tent and came out fully clothed, ready for nature's hardships. He walked towards his bow and arrow when his eye caught something in the far reach to his left. Curious, he ignored his bow for the moment and walked towards it. No sooner did he walk 6 steps did he take an equal amount of staggering steps backwards, for before him floated a heavenly angel.  
His jaw dropped and touched the ground, and in awe he spoke nothing. The morning rays of the sun outlined her beautiful figure and fringed the tips of her gorgeous white wings. Blood stained the lower feathers on their tips. The angel's garments consisted of a white full cloak, and covered all parts of her body. The hood, however, was down, and thus revealed an oddity among normals with long flowing purple hair and a face that would make Aphrodite jealous. Most peculiar of all was what she held in her arms. The marksman eyed a baby with purple hair as well, wrapped in what appeared to be a large piece of cured human flesh. The marksman's eye did not lie, and the baby tossed and turned in its foul cradle without making a noise.  
Eyes shifting attention, he graced his vision upon the beautiful angel once again. This time, she spoke. "Nobel ranger, whose power and innocence awes me, I require a favor of mankind, a favor that can only be fulfilled by humanity. The child I carry is the scourge of two worlds and will not be accepted by those who hate her. She is my baby child, and as a mother, I am responsible more so than any to raise her. This task that is assumed upon me I must reject, for if it were I to raise her, her future would find death more quickly than health. It is you who I have chosen to protect and raise my child, for you are strong, elegant, and one with nature all at once. Please, I beg of you, raise my child."  
The man took another step backward and his foot collapsed his tent. His dog sat astute and alert, eyes and ears focused upon the angel. His mouth moved without his will, "How is it that I, a Ranger in these uncharted woods, comes about an angel bearing a gift that I cannot comprehend? How is it that one so divine as yourself bestows such glory and responsibility on me?"  
"A fair question, Ranger. But I have no time; they still have no knowledge of the child. Please, you must take care of her... she has wonderful and terrible prophecies that must be fulfilled. You must..." The angel cried.  
The winds blew hard suddenly, and leaves picked up and blocked the ranger's vision for a moment. As fast as they came, the winds died down yet again, and the divine being was nowhere to be seen. In the burnt out fire ring lay the child that was never meant to see day, wrapped in its corrupt blanket of torn human flesh. The Ranger picked up the still, silent child, and cradled her in his powerful arms. By divination no doubt, a raven, carrying a worm in its mouth flew by and landed on the Rangers arm and looked into the child's sleeping eyes. It cocked its head, and dropped its worm onto the child, flying off soon after.  
The ranger removed the foul wrap and removed his own shirt to substitute for it. He towered over the beautiful child, and in innocent delight, reached up to grab his nose. He spoke, "My name is Ethan, and nature is my mother. In a way, the earth, too, is your mother, as she has granted you something the ages will remember. Your name will be... Raven."  
  
Raven stood up. Her nose felt cold against her bare skin as she moved her arm across her face. Ethan had died 50 years ago today, Raven's abnormal growth pattern outliving him by a long shot. Ethan was her father, and it was on this day she mourned for him, and it is today that she mourns for her future. Mother had put Ethan in an impossible position, but he raised her well anyway. It was fitting somehow that her doomsday would be the day after her birthday.  
The cave accepted the woeful child as its new occupant, and seemed to accelerate time as hours passed unnoticed. Raven laid down on the hard wet rock and tried to get some rest. Sand filled her eye corners, and the slow dripping of water from the caves top to its floor lullabied the pensive teenager to sleep. 


	8. Chapter 7: Sulfur Mines

Sulfur Mines

It stunk.

The Sulfur Mines were less welcoming than the Titans had hoped for. The stench of sulfur reeked in every corner of the mines. The Titans stood in the center of a very large room, surrounded by machinery, and more importantly, nothing else.

The mines went on for acres, but the particular room in which they stood held a good portion of that land. Metal catacombs outlined its rim with stairs, catwalks and chains to host up large boxes. The boxes themselves sat underneath a crane on the south end, containing huge amounts of raw sulfur ore. The metal ground was warm with the sun shining on it through windows and patches in the roof where there simply wasnt a roof. The sun shone down upon the titans. It was high noon.

"It stinks in here, guys!" Beastboy decided to exclaim in the middle of the silence. It was somewhat nerve racking to the rest of the titans, but really it was more annoying and blatantly obvious.

"No CRAP it does, BB!" Jim retorted.

"Where are the thugs that Raven spoke of?" Starfire and Robin were the only ones immediately aware of the situation; the other boys put their nose before their head.

"Probably knew we were comin'. Lets do a quick sweep before we head back." Robin took his place as temporary leader without Raven there. Everyone knew that he enjoyed bossing people around. Jim felt some nostalgia hearing words like that come out of Robin's big masked mouth.

"I'll save you the trouble, Titans."

Jim's heart skipped a beat. There was something about that voice that...

Beastboy was already talking, so he decided to do so again. "And you are?"

"Me? I am Infernus' minion, Pessimus. And you are Beastboy, the one-man zoo. Tell me, when you SHIT as an animal, is it different than if you SHIT as a boy?"

Jim mumbled to his comrades, "Who IS this guy?" He cleared his throat and shouted, "Where are you, scumbag!?"

Pessimus spoke from what appeared to be the opposite corner of the room. "Oh my, aren't we frisky! You're 7 eons too young for you to talk to ME like that."

Another voice manifested, origin unknown to Jim or the others; "Now, now, Pessimus, you're being too spiteful to these children. After all, you were the one who said they were eons too young."

"NOW what?" Terra exclaimed.

"Forgive my rude behavior. I am called Malus."

"A minion of Infernus?" Robin smugly replied.

"You're catching on." Malus enjoyed himself in his speech.

"Reveal yourself, foes, so that i may bring an end to this game." Jim smiled. Starfire was always one to be keen with words.

A flash blinded the Titans momentarily. The sudden loss of sight caused the titans to exclaim their sounds of confusion. No sooner did the light fade did darkness come, all encompassing, all foreboding. Vacuums of air swirled around the titans and brought each other to they're backs, not that it mattered in the darkness. It was silent. The warmth from the sun that came through the windows into the large, barren room dissipated all too quickly, and was missed by the innocent teens. Something told Jim that this was far too big for the Titans.

"Now, then, Favored Ones. Lets see what you're made of!"

No sooner did these words echo in Jim's ears did Starfire's scream of terror. Everyone turned to her and gave attention to the onslaught that Malus claimed to give. Jim quickly grabbed Starefire, and the rest of the Titans jumped into two parallel lines. Malus dashed through and sliced at air with two large scythes, and everyone got a good look at him.

Malus appeared to be a man of about 20 or 25 years old. His build was not particularly grand, nor was it sleek. He wore a long, flowing black cloak. His torso, legs, and most of his arms were hidden in the cloak. His face was twisted. His left eye was lower than his right, and his mouth perked upward on the right side. His nose bent down and in. His face held a terrible truth, a horror so halting that none of the Titans had ever even conceived. This man's pain was greater than all of Jim's grievances, and yet he did not feel pity for him.

Malus dashed along the ground, floating slightly so as not to move his legs, for another second or two. he stopped suddenly, and disappeared again.

"Join us, children!" They simultaneously shouted.

Malus and what could only be assumed as Pessimus appeared behind and in front of Terra, respectively. Pessimus had no distinguishing features besides his crimson red cloak. It spoke of tales of bloodshed and created a yearning for those who see it to touch it. Black shadows covered his face. He was more muscular than Malus it seemed, because his cloak bulged more at the chest than his. Pessimus' cloak seemed to wave in invisible wind at all times. A unique symbol that represented somewhat of a dragon decorated the back of his cloak in a deeper maroon.

Terra stood in fear between the two. The Titan's watched in horror as Malus and Pessimus went to work. Malus twirled both of his scythes, and they soon found home in Terra's back, both lodged directly adjacent to each other underneath a shoulder blade. No sooner did they land did they rip outward. At that exact moment, Malus disappeared and Pessimus raised his left hand. But before he could do anything, Jim found his courage and gave him a heavy right hook in the head. After it made contact, he, too, disappeared, and Jim stumbled forward. Terra lay unconscious in the floor space to the left of Jim.

There was a snarl in the coming calm. Pessimus spoke, "That punch shouldn't of landed! Perhaps we have underestimated how favoured THESE children are?"

"No, brother." Malus replied. "The Reaper must be busy with the Queen."

"Oh, yes, of course. Titans!" Everyone jumped. "We'll fight another day when the face of death stares into only the living. The playing ground is even at the moment, and we can't risk anything, our cause is too great."

"You must understand, failure isn't an option for us. Besides, it will be more fun when the Queen is helping us."

"We bid you farewell." Malus and Pessimus' voices died.

The darkness faded. Bits of light crept back into the mines, but more should have come. The moon's glow shined through the windows. It didn't catch anyone's attention that they had been frozen in time for nearly 8 hours, because it was morning when they arrived, and the fight was so quick. Beast Boy became a dog and stood solemnly beside Terra's unconscious body, and the remaining Titans circled around her. Jim wept.


End file.
